Deleted scenes: The Date, Family Photos, Crash Landing/X-Ray Vision, Old
Newspapers, Are You Two Dating?, Martinis and Wigs, I'm Always Right,
Jimmy the Lush, Language Barrier, Crystal Feet, New Krypton

Easter egg: "Wrong!"

Theatrical and video game trailers

Movie:
Disc:

Superman
returns after an absence of five years in which he went off in search of his
home planet of Krypton.

Even though he literally stopped the world from
spinning in the 1978 Superman movie
directed by Richard Donner and starring Christopher Reeve, Superman
couldn't do so this time and the world has moved on in his extended
absence: Lois Lane has a new boyfriend and a kid (!) whilst boy reporter
Jimmy Olson has turned into a sullen drunk. One thing that hasn't
changed though is Lex Luthor, who hatched up yet another hair-brained
(sic, pun intended) scheme involving property and Kryptonite.

Upon repeat viewings the
flaws in Superman Returns,
director Bryan (X-Men) Singer's melancholy
"sequel" to the old 1978 movie become more apparent. Also, the film's
giant scope is diminished on the small screen. While it is more
introspective and emotional than the 1978 film and the effects have been
improved enormously, Superman Returns comes up short in the
casting department. Kate Bosworth seems mean-spirited and petty at
times; while not quite such a looker, original Lois Lane Margot Kidder
had more of the spunk that the role required. New Superman Brandon Routh
may look the part and may be actually better-looking than Reeve, but he
is too stiff in the role and never seems to be having fun like Reeve
did.

Despite this, the new film
still remains quite the achievement: an intelligent and above-average
blockbuster that seeks to engage the heart rather than dazzle the eye
with state-of-the-art special effects. Ironically the film might appeal
more to women viewers than their male counterparts (although Routh's
pretty boy looks may have a lot to do with that).

THE DISCS: The
two-disc version has nearly three hours of documentaries on the making
of the film. While it is quite long, it however never really conveys the
complexity and scope of working on a modern Hollywood blockbuster like
Peter Jackson's so-called production diaries did on the
King Kong DVD. What is interesting to note though is how director
Bryan Singer gradually becomes more relaxed in the presence of the
documentary's crew as the production progresses -
one scene even chronicles a prank one film crew member pulls on a fellow
co-worker with the aid of the director.

Sadly
we aren't allowed any glimpses of the various attempts at filming a big
screen Superman movie over the past decade or so ?
at one stage Tim Burton was set to direct Nicolas Cage and even Kevin
Smith wrote a screenplay for a project titled
Superman Lives! But those attempts will
probably supply enough material for a documentary of its own day! (It
should provide a fascinating ?
although probably disturbing ? insight into how the Hollywood mind
works. Rumor has it that Kevin Smith for instance quit after producer
Jon Peters wanted to change Superman's costume to a black one without
any cape and insisted on a scene in which Superman must battle a polar
bear!

The documentaries also
offers little insight into earlier drafts of the screenplay. In the Marv
Wolfman novelisation -
obviously based on an early draft of the screenplay ?
there is an extended opening sequence in which the Man of Steel visits
and explores his dead home world in a space ship. It is also implied
that Luthor somehow manufactured the ?evidence? that Krypton still
exists that sent Superman off on his five year long quest. A plot twist
involving the parentage of a certain character also comes at a late
stage of the creative process behind the screenplay.

Also included are about
fifteen minutes worth of deleted scenes, none of them dealing with any
of the above plot points though. The scenes aren't bad -
but one can understand why they have been omitted. One in which Clark
Kent discovers his elderly mother is dating a neighbor could have been
left in though.

WORTH IT? Yes.

RECOMMENDATION:
This two-disc version is the preferred version of the film to check out.